Kids in the Kitchen

Recipes for little hands

By Elizabeth Moosbrugger

Photography by Robert Clark

Cooking is a great way to offer children practical math, reading, writing, and science — all in one project. Practice mise en place, a French culinary term meaning “put in place.” Have all your ingredients measured, cut, peeled, sliced, grated, etc., before you start cooking. When cooking with toddlers and preschoolers, this step can make a huge difference. Betsy Hall, 3, and Austin Clark, 5, learn from Elizabeth Moosbrugger as she guides them through the steps of creative cooking.

Getting creative in the kitchen with children can widen their food horizons, spark creativity, teach practical life skills, and encourage healthy eating. And it is a great way to offer practical math, reading, writing, and science — all in one project! Here are some tips to help you get started and some healthy recipes to try.

Learn together and let them loose. If a child is doing fine, give them the space to do it independently. Eleanor Hall, 5, pours the maple syrup as Austin Clark and Brenn Dowdey, 10, watch intently.
Learn together and let them loose. If a child is doing fine, give them the space to do it independently. Eleanor Hall, 5, pours the maple syrup as Austin Clark and Brenn Dowdey, 10, watch intently.

Know Yourself — You want cooking to be fun and enjoyable for everyone involved. Check your own comfort level first. Be honest with yourself. Maybe you like your kitchen to be neat and orderly with vegetables cut “the right way;” maybe you enjoy cooking with precision and the kitchen is your Zen space. You may want to try cooking with a teenager — yours or someone else’s — and skip the young children for now.

Or maybe you have fun in the kitchen and can let go when doing a project with a child. There is no right or wrong, good or bad here. The problems come when you are anxious and tense while you are teaching a child a new skill — then no one has fun.

Adjust Your Attitude — It is going to get messy; breathe. Plan for it. Put down a disposable plastic tablecloth on the table for quick and easy clean up. Include cleaning up as part of the fun. Have your child wash the dishes, watching carefully for knife blades, and wipe down the counters. It is going to take time; relax and enjoy. Don’t try to cook together when everyone is tired and hungry and getting dinner on the table is the priority.

Betsy cracks an egg.
Betsy cracks an egg.
Delicious and healthy oatmeal cookies provide lots of ways for children to get involved or cook all by themselves. Talk about the health benefits as you are cooking — introduce the idea that healthy food can be delicious, and delicious food can be healthy.
Delicious and healthy oatmeal cookies provide lots of ways for children to get involved or cook all by themselves. Talk about the health benefits as you are cooking — introduce the idea that healthy food can be delicious, and delicious food can be healthy.
Delicious and healthy oatmeal cookies provide lots of ways for children to get involved or cook all by themselves. Talk about the health benefits as you are cooking — introduce the idea that healthy food can be delicious, and delicious food can be healthy.

Practice “Mise en Place” (pronounced “MEEZ-on-plahs”) — Mise en place is a French culinary term meaning “put in place.” It means have all your ingredients measured, cut, peeled, sliced, grated, etc., before you start cooking. When cooking with toddlers and preschoolers this step can make a huge difference. Have some ingredients premeasured and set out before you start so that they can simply dump ingredients in the bowl. With a short attention span, children stay focused and interested if you have ingredients ready to pour and stir. For older children and more experienced younger chefs, practicing mise en place creates good habits for the future and prevents them from being halfway through a recipe before discovering they are missing a key ingredient.

Taste and Smell Along the Way — Let children make choices where they can. Smell the oregano and the thyme and decide whether the dish would taste better with one or both. Taste the nuts, seeds, and dried fruit for the oatmeal cookies before you add them to see which ones might taste good together. Try dried apples instead of raisins or use fresh apple chunks instead of dried fruit and see how that changes the cookies. By using a base recipe such as the Oatmeal Cookies and Egg Muffins below and making changes, children learn how to experiment and see what they like.

Safety First — When teaching a new skill, like cutting with a knife or cooking on a hot stove, explain the safety rules and demonstrate what you want the child to do. Notice out loud when she does something right. “You are keeping your hands on the cool countertop away from the stove. You are keeping your hands safe!”

Play “Green Eggs & Ham” — Explain that we don’t all like things the first time we try them. Some children are more sensitive to different textures, flavors, and smells. Some children are more adventurous and others prefer known foods only. Giving them options and autonomy allows them to explore and expand what they like. “Should we use pecans or walnuts or both with dried apricots?” “I wonder what this would taste like if we added dill. What do you think?”

Your child may balk when you put broccoli on her plate but may love it and want to share it with friends when you all make Sun-Cooked Broccoli. (Put frozen broccoli in a plastic snack bag and place it in the sun at the park or pool. Serve when warm.) For older children, mix the medium. Maybe steamed zucchini leaves him cold, but lasagna with zucchini noodles tastes better. He might even love it grated in savory zucchini and cheddar muffins. Pick an ingredient and cook it a different way each week.

Learn Together — With younger children, talk about the health benefits as you are cooking. “Carrots help you see better.” “Spinach, kale, and collards have calcium to grow strong bones.” “Healthy fats like olive oil help your brain work.”  If you don’t know the health benefits, look them up. With older children, hook the benefits to something that interests them. “Tart cherries and beets help you recover faster after a run.” “Eating a protein and a carbohydrate within 30 minutes of weightlifting helps your muscles repair.” Talk about her health goals and then research together how nutrition can help her achieve her goals. The internet offers tons of information on nutrition. Help her identify credible sites on nutrition. Talk to a young man about being able to make at least one delicious “date meal” to impress a young woman he likes.

Let Them Loose — When children are ready, let them loose to experiment. Toddlers and preschoolers can peel hard-boiled eggs and use a butter knife to cut soft foods like bananas, strawberries, or hard-boiled eggs by themselves. If the child is doing fine, give him space to work independently. If he makes a mess or a mistake, he can enjoy cleaning it up. As your little chef becomes more proficient, let him pick a dish or a meal to make on his own for the family.

Below are some recipes to try with some suggestions how to involve your children.

Know yourself. Maybe you have fun in the kitchen and can let go when doing a project with a child. The problems come when you are anxious and tense while you are teaching a child a new skill — then no one has fun. Let the children take turns mixing the cookie dough and scooping it onto the baking sheet.
Know yourself. Maybe you have fun in the kitchen and can let go when doing a project with a child. The problems come when you are anxious and tense while you are teaching a child a new skill — then no one has fun. Let the children take turns mixing the cookie dough and scooping it onto the baking sheet.
Know yourself. Maybe you have fun in the kitchen and can let go when doing a project with a child. The problems come when you are anxious and tense while you are teaching a child a new skill — then no one has fun. Let the children take turns mixing the cookie dough and scooping it onto the baking sheet.
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Oatmeal Cookies

Delicious and healthy cookies provide lots of ways for your children to get involved or cook all by themselves. For younger children, have the dry ingredients premeasured, then let them pour the ingredients in the bowl before carefully mixing them together. Taste the nuts, seeds, and dried fruit to decide which ones to add.

Older or more kitchen-savvy children can measure and pour the wet ingredients into the bowl and whisk them together.

2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 cups of combined add-ins (variety of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits)
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup olive oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment. In a large bowl, add the first 6 ingredients and mix them together. Stir in the nuts, seeds, and dried fruit.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the maple syrup through the vanilla. It should be a nice, pale tan color. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold them together until everything is evenly wet.

Use a cookie dough scoop or two tablespoons to drop the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1½ inches between the cookies. Bake until golden on the bottom, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Involve your children with tasks like prepping the vegetables and grating the cheese, but practice safety first. When teaching a new skill, like cutting with a knife or cooking on a hot stove, explain the safety rules and demonstrate what you want the child to do. The Egg Muffin recipe allows you to turn leftover dinner vegetables into quick breakfasts or healthy snacks for the week.
Involve your children with tasks like prepping the vegetables and grating the cheese, but practice safety first. When teaching a new skill, like cutting with a knife or cooking on a hot stove, explain the safety rules and demonstrate what you want the child to do. The Egg Muffin recipe allows you to turn leftover dinner vegetables into quick breakfasts or healthy snacks for the week.
Involve your children with tasks like prepping the vegetables and grating the cheese, but practice safety first. When teaching a new skill, like cutting with a knife or cooking on a hot stove, explain the safety rules and demonstrate what you want the child to do. The Egg Muffin recipe allows you to turn leftover dinner vegetables into quick breakfasts or healthy snacks for the week.

Egg Muffins

This delicious flexible dish allows you and your child to let your imaginations go wild. Invent new combinations of vegetables. Try different cheeses. Try fresh herbs and dried herbs. Fill half the muffins with one mix of vegetables and the other half with a different mix. You can even turn leftover dinner vegetables into quick breakfasts or healthy snacks for the week.

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Let children make choices when they can; taste and smell along the way. By making changes, children learn how to experiment and see what they like. As your little chef becomes more proficient, let them pick a dish to try and make on their own for the family. It is going to get messy; breathe and plan for it.
Let children make choices when they can; taste and smell along the way. By making changes, children learn how to experiment and see what they like. As your little chef becomes more proficient, let them pick a dish to try and make on their own for the family. It is going to get messy; breathe and plan for it.
Let children make choices when they can; taste and smell along the way. By making changes, children learn how to experiment and see what they like. As your little chef becomes more proficient, let them pick a dish to try and make on their own for the family. It is going to get messy; breathe and plan for it.

Involve your children by letting them prep the vegetables and grate the cheese. Teach a preschooler to crack eggs. If you are worried about eggshells, have them crack the egg in a small bowl and then pour the egg into the larger bowl once you check for shell pieces. Whisk the eggs and yogurt. Smell the herbs and pick which ones to add. Measure the salt and pepper. Older and more experienced young chefs can help with sauteing vegetables after you have given them safety instructions. Finally, depending on skill levels, have them divide the vegetables in the cups and pour in the egg mixture. Makes 12 muffins.

1 cup diced onions
1 zucchini, diced
7-ounce bag of baby spinach
1 red bell pepper, diced
½ cup shredded cheddar
9 eggs
¼ cup yogurt
½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
1 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)
Fresh basil or dill (optional)
Olive oil for sauteing

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with parchment muffin liners or butter the cups well. Heat a saute pan to medium on the stove top. Add olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the diced onions and cook until they are translucent. Add the diced zucchini and cook while stirring until they have released their juices and softened. Add the spinach and stir just until wilted. Remove from heat and let them cool until you can comfortably handle the vegetables. Set the vegetables aside in a strainer while they cool to drain any liquid that has accumulated. Add the diced bell pepper, tossing the vegetables together.

Crack the eggs into a bowl. Whisk together the eggs with the yogurt, salt, pepper, and any dried or fresh herbs you would like. Divide the vegetables evenly between the 12 muffins and sprinkle the cheese on top. Spoon or pour the egg mixture to the top of the muffin cups. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the eggs have set and the tops are golden. Serve immediately or let cool to room temperature on a rack and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Muffins can also be wrapped in plastic wrap and put in a plastic freezer bag for up to a month. Reheat them in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes on low.

Use 3 cups of vegetables in any combination you like such as:

• Diced roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed kale, bell pepper, caramelized onions, and feta cheese; or

• Halved cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, black beans, and minced jalapeno with seeds and ribs removed, combine with pepper jack cheese and ½ teaspoon each chili powder and cumin, or a spoonful of salsa; or

• Sauteed Swiss chard, sauteed spinach, flat leaf parsley, garlic, with ¼ cup prepared pesto mixed with the eggs. Top with half a cherry tomato, a few pistachios, and grated Parmesan cheese.

The important part of cooking with children is to have fun. By introducing play and creativity to the process of cooking, you build skills that can last a lifetime and an attitude of experimentation and creativity in the kitchen.

Include cleaning up as part of the fun!
Include cleaning up as part of the fun!

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